District News Roundup

A federal appeals court has ruled that a Tennessee school district
must pay for a student's treatment in a psychiatric hospital where he
was placed by his parents.

The May 29 ruling came in a case involving Jason Babbs, a teenager
who, according to the suit, has a long history of emotional problems
and academic failure. On entering the Knoxville County school system,
the boy was evaluated for special-education services and found to be
ineligible for such a program.

Unknown to his parents, however, the boy continued to have
behaviorial problems in school. After learning that school officials
were considering expelling Jason, the Babbs family withdrew him from
school and placed him in a psychiatric hospital.

School officials contended that they were not required to pay for
his care because Jason had been hospitalized for medical reasons.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth
Circuit said, however, that the school had failed to analyze the boy's
needs thoroughly.

Moreover, the judges said, the federal statute "clearly embodies
both academic instruction and a broad range of associated services
traditionally grouped under the general rubric of 'treatment.' ''

Lawyers for the school district said they plan to ask the full court
to rehear the case.

The Arizona Department of Education has charged that an
elementary-school district misused $900,000 in federal Chapter 1 grants
by using the bulk of the money to pay the salaries and benefits of
teachers who were not employed in compensatory education.

As a result of an audit, the state found that the Roosevelt
Elementary School District used $643,000 to pay teachers whose jobs did
not qualify them to receive the money. The audit also indicated that
the district improperly spent $157,000 on salaries and benefits for
aides and office personnel.

According to the state's report, most of the 16 schools in the
district that received Chapter 1 funds either have no compensatory
programs in place, offer minimal programs, or did not begin offering
services until late this school year.

While some services were being provided to ineligible children, the
state also charged, many pupils in need of Chapter 1 programs were not
receiving services.

If evidence is not produced by June 29 to rebut the state's charges,
the district will be required to replace the Chapter 1 funds with
locally generated revenues.

The president of the Austin, Tex., school board filed a lawsuit this
month to have herself declared the district's budget officer and,
therefore, in charge of preparing the school spending plan.

In a suit filed in Travis County District Court, Beatriz de la Garza
said that she, not the district's superintendent, should manage the
district's budgeting.

The court action came after the board refused to change the
district's budget policy and shift control to Ms. de la Garza. Local
officials said they fear that the Texas Education Agency might step in
to supervise the district if the dispute is not quickly resolved.

The lawsuit challenges board members and district administrators to
prove why Ms. de la Garza should not be in charge of the Austin
Independent School District's finances. Furthermore, the action asks
the court to order the district's superintendent, Jim Hensley, to
provide whatever information and help the board president requests.

The city of Chicago will purchase and install metal detectors at any
of the city's 74 public high schools and alternative schools, if
requested to do so by principals and the local school governing
councils, Mayor Richard M. Daley announced this month.

Under the plan, the city would provide two doorway-style metal
detectors for each school. The metal detectors cost $3,000 each and
would be paid for with funds remaining in two accounts used to retire
bonds, according to the Mayor's office.

Recent random searches in the schools by Chicago police have turned
up, among other weapons, dozens of guns, hundreds of knives and razors,
and cans of Mace, officials said.

In the past, school officials could request the loan of hand-held
metal detectors, said Lauri Sanders, a spokesman for the district.
About a half-dozen high schools and two elementary schools have
purchased hand-held detectors of their own, she said.

The New York Civil Liberties Union is expected to file a lawsuit
this month against the New York City Board of Education over its recent
decision to require that áéäó-prevention
lessons place a greater emphasis on sexual abstinence than on
condoms.

The resolution, adopted last month by the board, requires all
outside organizations and individuals taking part in the district's
AIDS-education program to sign a statement saying they will provide
only materials and lessons stating that sexual abstinence is the most
effective means of avoiding the virus that causes AIDS. Melinda Abrams,
a spokesman for the civil-liberties group, said the agreement violates
the U.S. Constitution's protections of free speech.

She said the group is likely to file a lawsuit on behalf of several
individuals and organizations later this month.

Last week, a spokesman for the district said there were no
resolutions before the board to rescind the policy.

Two Milwaukee organizations last week announced a new school-choice
program that will pay half of private-school tuition for children from
low-income families.

The Partnership for Educational Choice is modeled on the CHOICE
Charitable Trust, a privately funded choice program in Indianapolis
that has also been copied in San Antonio and Michigan.

The Milwaukee program was launched by the Lynde and Harry Bradley
Foundation and Partners Advancing Values in Education, a local
corporate partnership.

The Bradley Foundation pledged $500,000 a year for three years,
which is expected to be matched or exceeded by other corporate and
foundation donations.

Under the program, eligible low-income families who reside in the
Milwaukee school district may apply for grants for one-half of
private-school tuition, up to $1,000 annually per child.

Unlike the state-sponsored voucher program in Milwaukee, which
applies only to nonsectarian private schools, the partnership program
will extend to religiously sponsored schools.

Vol. 11, Issue 39, Page 2

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